Refugees

On International Migrants Day, trade union leaders across Europe, representing 45 million members from 90 trade union organisations in 38 European countries, will reiterate their support for solidarity with migrants by backing the first European Citizens’ Initiative (ECI) on migration. Trade union leaders showed their commitment by signing the ‘We Are a Welcoming Europe’ initiative at a high-level meeting of the European Trade Union Confederation (ETUC). “We are totally opposed to criminalising those who offer humanitarian assistance to migrants” said Luca Visentini, ETUC Secretary General. “The authorities should applaud and support those who help refugees fleeing life-threatening conflict. The Citizens Initiative rightly defends…

A collaboration of a team of media scholars, Jakob-Moritz Eberla, Christine E. Meltzerb, Tobias Heidenreicha, Beatrice Herreroc, Nora Theorind, Fabienne Linda, Rosa Berganzac, Hajo G. Boomgaardena, Christian Schemerb, and Jesper Strömbäckd, resulted in a publication “European media discourse on migration and its effects: a literature review“, which sets to explore the landscape of media research covering the media discourse on immigration and its effects across Europe. The literature review addresses a general problem of under-representation and depicting migrants as delinquents or criminals. Although, media framing differs for specific migrant groups and used discourses, immigration coverage is often negative and conflict-centered, the publication shows. Repetitive exposure to negative messages on migrants leads to…

The EFJ will participate to a hearing on “Migrant invasion: breaking the myth”, organised in Strasbourg by the Committee on Migration, Refugees and Displaced Persons of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE), on 26 June. The EFJ will be represented by Yannis Kotsifos, from ESIEMTH, member of the EFJ Steering Committee.

The Media Diversity Institute (MDI) is organising a media camp for 30 participants – journalists, audio visual professionals, and NGO and social activists who will exchange best practices and create innovative media products related to countering online hate speech towards migrants. The media camp will be held in London on 23-27 April as part of the project and campaign #SilenceHate. The participants coming from all over Europe will work in teams and as individuals. They are expected to design at least 10 media products and/or campaigns about migration issues responding to the ethical challenges associated with reporting on migrants. The…

The EFJ GS Ricardo Gutiérrez will participate to a panel discussion titled ‘Stigmatization of migrants in Europe’, at the European Parliament, in the framework presentation of the research “New Forms of Citizenship in Migration Era”. The panel will discuss this phenomenon with representatives of policy makers, media and NGOs from Brussels. Adopted recommendations and conclusions will be incorporated into a report “New policy ideas combating stigmatization of migrants in Europe” providing fresh ideas on how political actors could address this through their daily work, especially in the light of European elections in 2019. The event is co-hosted by MEP Tanja Fajon, vice-president…

By Joshua Hollingdale, Dansk Journalistforbund The photojournalist from Danish daily Politiken, Martin Lehmann, was acquitted on the 22 January 2018 in a case concerning the legality of refusing a command by the police to remove himself from a Danish motorway, where a large group of refugees were travelling by foot. The acquittal was viewed as a matter of principle, largely based on a regard to public interest and freedom of the press. Lehmann was arrested by Danish police on 9 September 2015 for refusing a command by officers to leave the motorway where the group of refugees were walking, and…

Twenty-five journalists from 12 countries gathered in Zagreb (Croatia) on 26 and 27 May to attend a workshop on the theme “Reporting Refugees, Migrants, Ethnicity” co-organised by the European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) and the Croatian Journalists’ Association (CJA). Journalists gathered at the workshop on reporting refugees in Zagreb. #mediaagainsthate pic.twitter.com/KhrkjXHR6I — Gašper Andrinek (@Caspersek) May 26, 2017 Croatia had little contact with migrants from the Middle East until 2015. But the country is now welcoming some migrants and the media, as well as the population, are experiencing some difficulties in dealing with it. The participants, all working on migration issues in their own countries, were given…

Media in many countries in the Euro-Mediterranean region don’t have enough resources and are unable to provide time, money and appropriate level of expertise needed to tell the migration story in context. This is the main finding of a recent study “How does the media on both sides of the Mediterranean report on migration?”, conducted by the Ethical Journalism Network (EJN) and implemented by the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD). Journalists from 17 countries examined the quality of migration media coverage in 2015/2016 from a national perspective. The study covers nine European countries and eight countries in the…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) was invited on 26 January to participate in the high-level debate “#SpreadNoHate: Hate Speech Against Migrants and Refugees in the Media” organised in Brussels by the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) and the European External Action Service (EEAS). This event was aimed to better understand the mechanisms of hate speech against migrants and refugees as well as exploring new ways to improve the quality of media coverage, by promoting ethical journalism and fostering dialogue between journalists, institutions and organisations. EFJ General secretary Ricardo Gutiérrez moderated the panel on “Strengthening Partnerships between Media and Civil…

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) has been invited by the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) to attend the 10th edition of the Civil society media seminar held at the Diplomatic Academy on 24-25 November 2016 in Vienna. The seminar gathered over 190 experts (policy makers, journalists, social workers, law enforcement officers, refugees, professors) and was dedicated this year to the topic “Communicating Migration”. EESC President Georges Dassis said :”Europe’s reconstruction is greatly due to migrants’ contributions. Over the past two years, media have played a big role in our perception of the migration flows. It is thus necessary to mention the benefits…

The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), the advisory body to the EU institutions and the voice of organised civil society in Europe, will hold its 10th Civil Society Media Seminar on “Communicating Migration” from 24 and 25 November 2016 in Vienna. This event is principally directed to journalists and communications/press officers from civil society organisations representing employers, workers and other social, occupational, economic and cultural organisations. This communication seminar focuses every year on a relevant topic in the European media and engages leading members of the EU media and civil society in discussion and debate. This year’s seminar will…